The egg hunt is on. And the fun activity that doesn't just take place at Easter. At least in 2025. Begun at the beginning of the year in the US, it's going from strength to strength. And France is no exception. For the past few weeks, the egg section in supermarkets has been completely bare. It's like a remake of a film made five years ago, when the French, jostled by the Covid-19 crisis and lockdowns, went into a frenzy, raiding supermarkets and causing shortages.

"Tension was heightened when images of empty shelves in the US and record prices were repeated in France," said Loïc Coulombel, vice president of the National Committee for the Promotion of Eggs (CNPO), adding: "This creates a panic reaction, and instead of buying one box, the customer buys two." These compulsive purchases are taking place in an already strained market.

With inflation, the French tend to prefer chicken eggs to salmon or even sturgeon. The cheap protein is a hit. And laying hens are struggling to keep up, even though their biological clock is out of whack and they lay eggs all year round. "Supermarket sales, which had risen by 4% in 2024, rose by a further 4.6% in January and February. While production was stable in 2024, at nearly 15 billion eggs," pointed out Alice Richard, director of the CNPO. Egg production is still 4% down on 2021, i.e. before the serious bird flu health crisis that decimated chicken coops. France, whose emblem is the rooster, is no longer completely self-sufficient in eggs.

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